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My name's Nicole - a Toronto-based makeup addict. Welcome to my corner of the web where I share my love & experiences with all kinds of beauty, makeup & skincare products. Head on over to my About Page to learn more about me.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

This is the last look for the Naked Palette Series. I used the Naked 3 palette to create a soft cut crease. The shades I used to create this were limit / darkside / blackheart in the crease, strange on the lid, and dust in the inner corner. The lashes I used are from the brand Kara in style #415. On my lips is TooLips by ColourPop Cosmetics. Foundation used is the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation.

And that's the end of the series.

Click here to see the looks I came up with the Naked1 and Naked2 palettes.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

I'm not too sure how often you're supposed to clean your makeup brushes, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't live up to it even if I knew what it was. However, I finally had the time to give them their long awaited cleanse!

Can we just take a moment to compare these two pictures? Just take a look at the gold handled brush... Look how clean it is in the first photo! The first photo is just so satisfying and I dislike that they'll just end up like this photo again, lol.

And I have to give all credits to this guy right here. The Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleanser. This makes cleaning your brushes fast & easy. All you have to do is dip your brush in the solution and wipe it off on a towel. I'd say the only problem I have with this is that it has a really strong scent to it when using it. On the positive side, this is a fast drying product. Meaning, if need be, you could use your brush in a few minutes after cleaning.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Tattoos, back in the day, were only usually seen on "criminals" or "gang members". Today, everybody seems to have them. Regular people, who live regular lives, may have one or, maybe, a few tattoos. In the current generation that we live in, it's completely normal to have them and it's a way for people to express themselves through art. I, myself, have a total of 5 tattoos. Which I'll be talking in depth about today.

I got my first tattoo at the age of 15. Placed on my wrist, it is an ambigram of my parents' names. For those who don't know, an ambigram is an art form of a word that when it is rotated, it can read the same word or a new word. On mine, one way it reads "Marcial" (my dad's name) and when read the other way, it says "Dionisia" (my mom's name). I had this tattoo done by a friend who was a new tattoo artist. As a new artist and a friend of mine, he gave me a discount on it, pricing this piece at $30.

My second tattoo is located on my back, going down my spine. It is my birthday in roman numeral form. Sometimes, I regret getting this but hey, it still looks pretty cool. So it'll do. Again, this was done by my friend that did my first tattoo. It was maybe a week or two after I got it as well. This one cost me $60.

This tattoo was a "spur of the moment" type of tattoo. I got this tattoo in June or July of 2011. Darwin and I randomly decided to get matching tattoos literally that day. We both got the number 69 on our ring fingers and each others' names on the inner part of the finger. By the way, the "69" symbolizes June 9th (the day we were official). This one, though, means a lot to me because when I got it, a lot of people thought it was stupid. We were together for a month or less when we got this tattoo. A lot of people doubted us and said "what if you guys break up?". But look at us now, it's almost been 5 years since we got that tattoo, and we're still together. -- I got this poorly done at a ghetto store in a plaza for $80. Crazy.

This is the most basic tattoo that I have, lol. It seems like everyone was getting this somewhere on their body at the time. And I just so happened to fall into that group of people. Anyways, this dreamcatcher was done by an artist I was introduced to who had been tattooing for several years. This one cost $160.

My most recent tattoo has to be my favourite. I'm almost certain that I got this late 2013. It's Kayla's name with a big rose next to it. This one is pretty self explanatory. My daughter's name is Kayla Rose. I had this one done by the same guy who did my dreamcatcher tattoo, for $130.

Now that I've covered all my tattoos, how about a little Q&A?

Q: Did it hurt? Which tattoo hurt the most?

A: To be honest, I think I have a really high pain tolerance, so they didn't really hurt.

But if I had to choose which one gave me some discomfort, I'd have to say the

one on my finger.

Q: Do you regret any of them?

A: I slightly regret my dreamcatcher because it is way too basic for my liking. Also, I

mentioned that I kind of regret the one on my spine. I wish I had waited

for a more important date to pass, like Kayla's birthday. But at the time, I

was young and all my tattoos are just memories of my teenage years, so it's fine.

Q: Do you worry about how it will look when you're old?

A: Not really. Like I mentioned, it's so normal to have tattoos nowadays

that it's going to be nothing shocking to see when you're old.

Q: What do your parents think about them?

A: They were born in the times where tattoos were only for a specific type

of people. But when I get my tattoos, I don't tell them and they just have

to live with the fact that it's on my body forever. My dad wasn't too fond of my tattoos

but somehow he loves to show off my tattoo that has his name, so?

Q: Would you ever get them removed?

A: Probably not. I think it'll cost more than the tattoo itself and I've read

that it hurts more than actually getting it. So no, I wouldn't. But I do have thoughts

of getting coverups. Darwin and I have thought of covering up our finger tats with

something better but still represents us.

Q: Do you plan on getting more?

A: Yes. I do. I don't know what as of yet, but I know I want to get more.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Last week, Sephora had a shopping event where BIs, VIBs & VIB Rouges got discounts of 10%-15% off their purchases. Of course, I had to get in on it and pick out a few items. The first thing that made it's way into my cart was the Tory Burch Rollerball. I got a sample of this a while back and since then I've been dying to purchase it. It has a floral scent, which is the type of scents I usually gravitate towards. The next thing I got was the ABH Concealer. I got this mainly to use to clean up around my brows. If the formula isn't too thick, I may use it on any blemish spots I get but I don't think I'll be using this under my eyes. Another concealer I snatched was the MUFE Ultra HD Concealer. I don't have many high end concealers so I decided to give this a try. It had good reviews on Sephora's site so hopefully this works well with me. I always hear people raving about Benefit Hoola Bronzer so I decided to give that a try as well. I bought the travel size, which I think is new. The last thing I picked up was KVD Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow N Arrow. I have two other shades from this line and I love the formula of both, so I decided to get another one. I've been loving a nude lip lately so that's why I picked up this shade.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

I finally completed the Naked Palette collection just recently, thanks to my cousin who gifted me the Naked 2 Palette for Christmas. This one has a lot of shimmery shades, with only 3 matte shades. I've never been the biggest fan of shimmer but I'm slowly trying to incorporate it more. Without further ado, here's the look I came up with.

Saturday, April 09, 2016

First outfit of the day on my blog, yay. I was originally supposed to upload the "Whisper Challenge" video today, but unfortunately I got sick and couldn't film it on time. I promise to have it up sometime this week! But anywho.. Today, I finally got around to hitting the gym. Kayla and I are spending the weekend at my boyfriend's house and they conveniently have a gym. Darwin's guiding me through all these techniques and moves, since I don't know anything about working out - Haha. After that, he and I decided to go out for a mini date (I guess you can say). We ended up going to Pacific Mall for some food and bubble tea, mm. Without stalling any further, here's what I wore today - a textured knit mock neck top (f21), ripped jeans (joe fresh) that I ripped even more on the knee that isn't visible, a long peacoat (h&m), and croc-textured ankle boots.

Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Makeup Geek Contour Powders:First Impression | The formula is really creamy. And it's also really pigmented. One swatch was already so pigmented. As for application, it went on smooth and was very easy to blend out. I used the shade "cool fair" and it created a nice shadow effect.Review | I have to mention a second time that this is very, very pigmented. I could lightly tap my brush in this once and it could be enough for one side of application. Though it's pigmented, it's really blendable. So even if you accidentally pick up too much powder, you can somehow blend it out enough and make it not look like a harsh spot of brown.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil:First Impression | Okay, the first time I used this, I accidentally put on too much of it. You're supposed to only use two drops and I exceeded that by a mile. But once I spread it onto my face and wiped the excess off of my hands, it sunk into my skin fairly quickly and made my skin slightly tacky so that the primer could adhere to it. My foundation went on nicely and though it is an oil, I didn't get overly oily throughout the wear. (I have normal/combination type skin) I did set my t-zone with powder though.Review | I actually really like this primer. It doesn't make me look oily at all, despite being an oil. But I do get oilier earlier than usual. It's not an excessive amount of oily either, it just makes me look dewy. Nothing that blotting or powder can't fix though. Though it has a scent to it that I'm not too fond of. Overall, pretty good primer. I can't lie, I was iffy about it because it was an oil, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.